Bullets and Arrows
by merb412
Summary: Tessa was rescued by Hershel when the world started to turn. When Rick's group shows up at the farm Tessa is forced to make alliances and become part of something bigger. When she bonds with Daryl, she starts to realize that even at the end of the world, some relationships are worth the fight
1. Chapter 1

Tessa looked out of her bedroom window at the new group that had arrived yesterday. She watched as they finished setting up their camp right outside of Hershel's home. She didn't like this, she didn't like it at all, but it wasn't like Hershel to turn people down. Especially since their child was hurt. If Hershel was the type of man to turn people away, Tessa highly doubted that she would be here today. Not that there was much left to live for. A knock from the door made Tessa tare her gaze from the new comers. It was Beth.

"Will you help me feed the chickens?" the small blonde girl asked. Tessa nodded before passing the girl out of the room. Beth had become like a sister to Tessa. In fact, all of Hershel's family had. They cared for her, and she knew that, but Tessa also knew that she was too cold, too damaged to really allow them into her life. If she let them in, it would only be a matter of time before someone got hurt.  
"Have you met the new people?" Beth asked form behind Tessa on the stairs.

"Got back to late last night. Every one was asleep." Tessa often disappeared from the farm. She would go into the woods or into town. She was used to solidarity, and she liked being alone. Hershel didn't mind as long as she came back at night. He knew the girl was damaged and didn't want to push her to a breaking point.

"That's too bad," Beth continued, "they seem like nice people." Tessa snorted a little bit.

"Everyone seems nice until you get to know them. You best not forget that." Tessa walked out of the house, not looking to see if Beth was fallowing. She could feel the weight of the groups stare as she rounded the house. She was watching her feet and almost collided with a man.

"Watch were ya' going," the man said rudely before making his way back to the front of the house. Tessa watched as he walked away. He was wearing a cut off shirt with a biker vest, and was carrying a crossbow on his back.

"Stupid redneck," she muttered before continuing on her way to the chicken coop. When Beth finally caught up with Tessa, she was all ready feeding the chickens. Tessa looked up as Beth walked into the coop with a relieved look on her face.

"Thought you were going to disappear on us again," Beth said as she started looking for eggs.

"No, not yet anyways."

"Why do you do it? Disappear, I mean," Beth asked tentatively. She knew how touchy Tessa could get. Tessa was quiet for a long while, thinking how to answer the other girl's question.

"I've been on my own for as long as I can remember. I've grown used to being alone," she said quietly. Beth stopped what she was doing and looked at the other girl.

"You aren't alone anymore," she whispered. And like that, Tessa was gone. She dropped the feed and stormed out of the chicken coop. She wasn't good with touchy feely crap. She didn't want to get close to the Greene family. Being close to someone only meant pain, and if there was one thing in this world that Tessa couldn't take anymore of, it was pain. Her whole childhood had been nothing but hurt. It was more then she could stand.

Tessa trudged away from the farm and out to an old brick ruin that used to be part of the original house that was built on this land. She sat down and rested her head on the old bricks. This was where she came to clear her head. Where she could be alone and not make the family who took her in worry about her. She sat there like that for a long while. She let out a sigh and finally opened her eyes when she heard footsteps approaching. She was expecting Maggie, or Beth, telling her that she had missed dinner, but instead, it was that stupid redneck she had almost ran into earlier.

"What the hell are yer doing here?" he asked in that same tone of voice. Tessa looked at him for real this time. He was tall, well built. He had good muscle definition and tanned skin. She could tell that even before the world went to shit he was an outdoorsy type.

"I should be asking you that question," she retorted as she went back to staring at the sky.

"Do ya even belong 'ere? Sneaking 'round and hiding from everyone." Tessa shot him a glare.

"Yes, _I_ belong here. It's you and you're stupid group that doesn't belong here," she said as she stood to confront the stranger.

"Watch what ya say girl," the man retorted angrily.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" Tessa watched as the man's eyes grew slightly. He obviously wasn't expecting her response. She shot him one last glare before marching off in the directions of the woods.

"Where ya going?" he called after her.

"What's it to you?"

"Ya can't go in the woods by yerself. Ya'll get yer self killed!"

"Watch me!" Tessa said as she continued on her way. She had her gun tucked into the waste band of her pants, along with her throwing knifes. She knew how to fight the walkers. She would be just fine.

Tessa wandered deeper and deeper into the forest. She knew this forest better than anyone in the Greene family home. No one went into the woods as frequently as she did. It bothered Hershel, but he knew that it wouldn't have been a good idea to confine the girl to the farm. So he reluctantly agreed to let the girl wander around.

Tessa wasn't paying attention to how long she had been walking, but sooner then she would have thought the sun was starting to set.

"Shit," she said under her breath. There was no way she would be back before dark. She let out a frustrated sigh before turning around to head back. She was about halfway back when she heard them. Walkers. Tessa quickly jumped behind a tree as she pulled out her knifes. There was no need to waste any ammo tonight. As she peered around the tree trunk, she saw that there were two of them coming towards her. Tess gripped her knife tighter before throwing it across the path into a tree. Just as she had suspected, the walkers were distracted by it. She launched out of her hiding spot and drove the other knife into the head of the first walker. Before the other one had time to snap at her, she pulled the knife from the tree and threw it at the second. It embedded itself right between the walker's eyes.

Tessa pulled her knifes out of the walkers heads before she continued on her way, a little more quickly. She didn't want to be stuck in the woods when the walkers got active. She knew from past experiences that sleeping in a tree was not fun.

Daryl and the group were gathered around their fire, eating the squirrel that Daryl had gotten earlier that day. He sat quietly as the others continued to talk. There was talk about Sophia, and how tomorrow the search for Carol's little girl would really start. Rick had invited Hershel and his family to join them around the fire, and they sat quietly with the group. Daryl was picking at the last of his food when Hershel's blonde daughter came running up to the group almost in tears.

"Dad…Dad Tessa isn't here. I can't find her anywhere," she said hysterically. Maggie went to her sister's side and pulled her close.

"She's supposed to be back by nightfall," Maggie said harshly in her dad's direction.

"Who's Tessa?" Shane demanded from across the fire. Hershel turned to the group then.

"She's one of mine. We took her in shortly after things went down. She's a bit difficult to handle sometimes. Girl likes to keep to herself."

"Ya mean that dark haired bitch?" Daryl commented from his spot.

"You know her?" Shane said incredulously. He still believed the worst of Daryl.

"Little bitch was yelling at me 'fore she ran into them woods." That pushed Beth over the edge. She started to cry.

"Maggie, take your sister inside," Hershel said as he stared at the fire. The group watched the old man as he contemplated what to do. He knew that Tessa cold take care of herself, but the woods were not a place to be at night. Hershel sighed as he stood up to go inside and comfort his daughters.

"You aren't worried about her?" Carol asked as the man moved to leave. Hershel turned back to the group. Everyone was studying him.

"Tessa is a smart, tough girl. She can take care of herself."

"Even at night? In the woods, with the walkers?" Lori said quietly. Anyone could tell she was thinking of Carl in that situation.

"She was an army medic and sniper. She knows how to survive in enemy territory."

"How come we never met her?" Rick asked from his perch by his wife. Hershel opened his mouth to say something, and as if on cue, the dark haired girl from earlier rounded the house and stepped into the light of the fire. Daryl took a good look at her. He'd be lying if he said she was ugly. Her dark hair complimented her light eyes. Hershel's whole body relaxed as he saw the girl he had taken under his wing.

"Tessa," he breathed out, "Why are ya getting back so late?"

"Ran into some trouble," she said as she looked around the fire. She still wasn't sure how she felt about these people.

"Well, you're back now and that's all that matters." Tessa nodded at Hershel before he brought her closer to the group. He introduced the girl to the new people before he let her go. Daryl watched the sway of her hips as she walked away. It had been so long since he had seen a girl like that.

"Interesting girl you found there Hershel," Rick commented once Tessa was gone. Hershel chuckled to himself before answering.

"Like I said, she likes to keep to herself. We don't know much about her past, but when she came to me she had been shot three times. She said it was her father, and by the amount of scars that girl has, I think it's the truth. She's kind of like a wounded animal. It's best not to push her, and just let her come to you."

Suddenly, everyone heard voices shouting from the house. It appeared that the girls inside were getting into a pretty heated argument. When a door slammed from the back of the house, Hershel shook his head excusing himself to go check on the girls. It seemed a good as time as any to slip away so Daryl stood and headed back to his tent.

After Maggie yelled at Tessa for her being selfish, Tessa stormed from the house, slamming the door behind her. She had had enough of people to day. She trudged over to the hammock that she had set up. She hesitated slightly when she saw that a tent was set up near by.

"Great," she mumbled under her breath as she continued on her way. A tent meant that one of the new people was setting up near her favorite place on the farm. Tessa sat cross legged in the middle of the hammock before pulling out a rag from her back pocket to clean her knives. Tessa stopped her cleaning when she heard footsteps. She quickly held up her knife, ready to throw, only to see the redneck from earlier.

"Jesus, I just can't get away from you people," she said as she went back to cleaning her knife a little more forcibly. She just wanted to be alone.

"Get used to it girl," he retorted in that tone of his. Tessa made a face at her knife.

"Nobody asked you stay," she muttered quietly. She could feel the eyes of the man on her, but she refused to look at him until her knife was clean. When she finally lifted her eyes to meet his, he looked angrily.

"We got a reason to be here, and if ya paid even the slightest bit of attention to what was happenin' 'round ya, ya'd know we're lookin' for a little girl we lost." Tessa felt the breath leave her lungs. A little girl lost in the woods? That hit a little to close to home for Tessa. She quickly turned her gaze from the man back to the woods.

"I'm sorry," she said. She couldn't imagine loosing a child out in the world today. It would have almost been better if the girl had just died. The man grumbled something under his breath before climbing into the tent. Tessa sighed. Maybe she'd go look for the girl tomorrow. She went back to cleaning her knifes as she thought of the time she got lost in those vary same woods.


	2. Chapter 2

_Daddy had been angry with her. He was always angry. Tessa couldn't remember ever seeing her daddy happy. She hung onto her bloody arm as she continued to walk through the woods. She had said something to make him angry. He had told her she needed to learn to keep her mouth shut before he thrusted a cooking knife into her small arm. Tessa had started to cry, which only made her daddy angrier. So he had slapped her. Tessa had wanted to get away, so went into the woods. She didn't know where she was, or where she was going. It was a miracle that she made it back home at all. And it only took eight days. Tessa should have stayed in the woods. When she walked through the back door, her daddy was in a terrible mood. As soon as he saw his daughter, he grabbed her by the throat and threw her against the wall. _

_ "Where were ya, ya little bitch?" he spat at her. She just cowered on the floor as she felt the cold knife run up her leg. "People were askin' questions. Ya know I don't like it when 'em stupid folks ask questions." Tessa screamed as her daddy stabbed the knife into her leg and pulled it down her thigh. _

Tessa woke thrashing and screaming. She had fallen asleep on the hammock and all of her thrashing caused her to fall. She hit her head on the ground and blood started to drip down her face. She could hear someone coming, but she refused to look at them. She righted herself so she was kneeling, and just stared at her hands. Someone knelt in front of her. They were speaking to here, but she wasn't listening to them. It took Tessa bout ten minutes before she realized that it had just been a dream. The nightmares were back. She had had them before, but when she joined the military, they gave her meds to help her sleep. The meds had been gone for about three months now, and it had only been a matter of time before the nightmares started again.

"Hey!" Tessa's head shot up at the frustrated voice. _Please don't hurt me; _she thought as she made eye contact with the redneck that had set up his tent by Tessa's hammock. She just looked at the man, waiting for him to raise a hand to strike her. When he reached out a hand, Tessa flinched, but he only grabbed her arm to help her up.

"Yer bleeding, I need to get ya to Hershel." Tessa nodded mechanically as he helped her up. She was a dead weight as the two made their way to the house.

"What happened?" Hershel said as he came out onto the porch. He had seen them coming through the widow.

"Don't know. Woke up to her screamin' and when I got to her, she was on the ground, bleedin'."

"Thank you Daryl," Hershel said as he helped bring Tessa into the house. _So the redneck's name is Daryl, _Tessa though as she sat on the bed that had become used as a sort of medical bed.

"You can leave now," Hershel said to Daryl as he started tending to Tessa's head. Daryl hesitated by the door. It felt weird just to leave an injured person, but he knew that the girl was in good hands. When the door to the room was finally shut, Hershel turned his attention to Tessa

"What happened?" he asked quietly as he raised his hand to clean her head wound. Tessa flinched, not able to help herself. She knew Hershel wouldn't hurt her, but after years of being struck, a raised hand meant only one thing.

"I thought they had stopped," she whispered as she dropped her head, her hair hiding her face and the tears that were building.

"Thought what had stopped?" Hershel asked, trying to coax the answers out of the broken girl. Tessa looked at Hershel then with wide, scared eyes. She forgot he didn't know that he wasn't around when the nightmares had started. She took a deep breath. It would take everything she had to share this part of her life with the man who had taken care of her.

"I know you know about the scars," she started, "and that the only explanation would be an abusive home." Hershel nodded, so Tessa continued. "When I left for basic, I started having nightmares about when my father would hurt me. They're so real that when I wake up, it takes a while before I realize I was just dreaming. I had had medicine for them, but it's been gone for a while now." Tessa was on the verge of crying. It had been so long since she had last cried. To her, crying was a sign of weakness, and if there was something Tessa never wanted to be, it was weak. Hershel sat on the bed and lifted Tessa's chin.

"Nobody here is going to hurt you. I promise you that," he said with the most sincerity in his voice. Tessa let out a little sob before Hershel went back to cleaning her wound. Tessa stayed in the house for most of the day, not wanting to face Daryl, knowing that he would have questions for her.

Daryl had spent the day looking for Sophia and had turned up empty handed. He returned to the farm at sundown with a few squirrels' he had managed to get for dinner. Lori and Carol were cooking, and the men were doing who knows what. Daryl had slipped away to the old brick ruins away from the house to carve some arrows. As he methodically brought his knife down the arrow he thought of what happened that morning.

He had woken to a woman screaming. He had thought that walkers had gotten to the farm. When he saw Tessa on the ground, with blood dripping down her face, he was confused as to what had happened to her. He tried talking to her, but whatever was wrong with the girl was bad. She wouldn't look at him. Daryl finally yelled, getting her attention, and reached out to help her up. She flinched when he reached for her, and her eyes were so scared. It must have been one hell of a nightmare. Daryl was pulled from his thoughts of the hurt girl when her heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up to see Tessa coming his way.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered under his breath as he went back to working on his arrows.

Tessa finally found Daryl out by the ruins that she liked to retreat too. Maybe they were more a like then Tessa had originally thought. She took a deep breath before heading out towards the man who had seen her this morning. He appeared to be sharpening arrows. Tessa saw him look at her as she approached before going back to his task. Even when Tessa reached him, he just continued to work. She took a deep breath as she shoved her hands into her jean pockets. She didn't know why she felt compelled to apologize to this man, but she knew she had to.

"I'm sorry," she said, finally getting the mans' attention, "for this morning I mean. No one should have to deal with me when I'm like that." Daryl snorted.

"What the hell happened to ya?" he said as he brought the knife back down the makeshift arrow.

"Nightmare." Daryl looked at Tessa like he was waiting for her to say more, but Tessa just looked out at the forest.

"Happen to ya a lot?" Tessa sighed as she looked up at the sky.

"All the time, actually." She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears that were building up in her eyes. She had all ready cried today, and she refused to look weak in front of a stranger. Daryl grunted as he went back to work. Tessa looked at him, and watched as he carved the arrow. He had strong hands. She could tell that he had done this before. When he was done with one, he looked up at Tessa, a little surprised that she was still there.

"Ya gunna stand there all day or what?" he snapped. A smirk found its way on Tessa's face.

"I'd rather sit," she said as she sat down and looked up at the clouds. Daryl mumbled something along the lines of 'smart ass bitch' as he went back to work. Tessa didn't mind. She liked the feeling she got when she was around Daryl. He was like her. He was broken. They had an unspoken understanding. The broken always seem to find each other. Tessa eventually lay down and she drifted in and out of sleep. Now that the nightmares had started again, she was afraid to fall asleep. The nightmares were so real that sometimes she would wake up and could feel the cold metal from a knife.

"What're they about?" Daryl asked, bringing Tessa out of her thoughts and back to the real world. She was quiet for along time. Was she really going to reveal a part of herself to a complete stranger? The world was ending, what did she have to lose?

"My father," she said quietly. Daryl stopped his work as she looked at the girl in front of him. Tessa sat up and looked at Daryl. She didn't see pity on his face, but more of something along the lines of understanding. The two shared a look, with more passing between them then any words could say.

"Daryl!" called someone from a little ways away. Daryl and Tessa turned to see Rick, the leader of the group. "Foods ready." Daryl nodded slightly before going back to what he had been doing before. Tessa sighed. What ever had just happened was over. She stood and turned to go back to the house.

"Where ya going?" Daryl asked roughly, not looking at her.

"Back, figure I should stay close to the farm tonight," Tessa said before walking away. There were no footsteps behind her, meaning Daryl had stayed at her favorite spot on the farm.

It was dark when Tessa went back to the hammock where she had fallen asleep the night before. She didn't want to be around the Greene family tonight. Patricia was mourning the loss of her husband, and Hershel had told the girls about what had happened to Tessa that morning. She could tell by the looks they were giving her. The thing she missed the most about her life before the walkers started coming around was the solitude. She was used to it, and not having it now was just strange to her.

Tessa was playing with one of her throwing knifes when she heard the footsteps approaching. She didn't look up to see that it was Daryl. Hershel knew better than to talk to Tessa when she was like this, and Daryl's tent was right next to her.

"Ya gunna wake up screamin' 'gain?" Daryl asked once he reached the tent. Tessa snorted as she threw the knife, nailing a falling leaf to the tree trunk.

"I'll try to stop myself," she said sarcastically as she turned to look at Daryl. He wasn't looking at her, but at the knife embedded in the tree. Tessa rolled her eyes, got off the hammock, and pulled the knife free before walking back towards the house. There was just no way she was going to be alone tonight.

"How'd ya do that?" he asked, still amazed.

"Practice," Tessa called over her shoulder as she continued on her way. She waved at the group sitting around the fire. She knew they didn't trust her, and if they ever ran into a group of walkers, she wanted them to have her back. When she walked into the house, Hershel was giving Carl the okay to go out tomorrow, and Maggie was in the living room by herself. Tessa approached the girl and sat across from her. Maggie had wanted to talk to Tessa, but Tessa managed to escape each time. No more running.

"You okay?" Maggie asked as she continued to look out the window.

"Fine, just old memories resurfacing. What about you?" Maggie turned to look at Tessa. Out of the sisters, Tessa was defiantly closer to Beth. It was Maggie's constant urge to know everything about her that drove Tessa crazy.

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked slowly.

"You're staring longingly out the window," Tessa explained. "There is a boy your age here, and I see the way you look at him."

"Glenn? Oh no, not like that." Tessa rolled her eyes. Maggie was blushing.

"Keep telling yourself that Maggie." Tessa left Maggie to her thoughts and knocked on the door that led to the medical area. Hershel answered and ushered Tessa inside.

"I've looked him over, and he seems fine. Care to give a second opinion?" Tessa nodded before moving over to the boy.

"Does she know what she's doing?" Carl's mother, Lori, whispered to Hershel, but Tessa heard.

"I was a field medic in Iraq," she said as she examined the wound. Tessa and Hershel had bonded over the practice of medicine. Tessa taught him something's about trauma and he had taught her something's as well. Tessa had complete faith in Hershel's medical practice and he in hers.

"How you feeling?" she asked the little boy as she put pressure around the wound.

"Better," he said happily. Tessa smiled a bit. He was happy to be getting out of the house.

"You can get out of bed, but be careful, don't push yourself," Tessa said as she backed off. Carl smiled as he went to get out of bed. Tessa put a hand on his shoulder to stop him and added "tomorrow." She could visibly see Lori relax. Tessa smiled at her a little before pulling Hershel out into the hallway.

"Do you have anything to help me sleep?" she asked hopefully, but Hershel looked down at his feet.

"I'm sorry, but our supplies don't have anything like that." Tessa crossed her arms and sighed.

"I'm sorry if I wake you tonight, but please, don't come into the room." She turned to go upstairs, leaving Hershel staring after her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Tessa was outside playing with her dolls when she heard a loud crash from inside the house. Being a curious little girl, she abandoned her dolls and went to see what happened. She saw her daddy in the kitchen with a big bottle in his hand. He always seemed to have a big bottle now that mommy was gone. Tessa took a step towards her daddy and stepped on something sharp. She let out a little squeal of pain as she looked down at her foot. There was broken glass sticking out of her foot and blood had started to build up around the cut. _

_ "Daddy," Tessa said, starting to cry, "Daddy I hurt my foot." Her daddy looked at his daughter then with cold eyes. He walked over to her, pushed her to the ground, and pulled the shard of glass out quickly. Tessa started to cry as blood started to flow freely now. _

_ "God damn it! You stupid little bitch! You're going to get blood every where!" Her daddy roared before she slapped her across the face. Tessa yelped. "Get the hell outside before you get that blood a yours any where else!" Tessa quickly got up and limped outside as fast as she could. _

Tessa sat up suddenly in bed with a cold sweat. She looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was six am. She tried to get her breathing under control as she ran her hands through her hair. At least she hadn't woken up screaming this time. When Tessa finally had control of herself she quickly got out of bed. She needed to keep busy in order to stop herself from thinking about the past.

Tessa was headed out to the horse barn, enjoying the quiet that had settled around the farm. Everyone was still sleeping. She knew that the other group felt safe here. Once at the barn, Tessa went to work. There were four horses on the farm and each had to be fed, groomed and the stables needed to be mucked out. Tessa was on her third stall when Glenn and Maggie came into the barn.

"Tessa," Maggie said, obviously surprised to see the other girl. "I didn't know you would be here." Tessa shrugged as she went back to work.

"Where are you two going?"

"We're going into town to make a supplies run," said Glenn. Tessa knew he was with the other group, and she knew Maggie liked him, but she didn't know anything about him.

"Well good luck." Tessa moved passed the two to the fourth and final stall. When Tessa was done with the horses, she headed towards the old ruins where she had found Daryl. On her way back she passed Patricia, Lori and Carl feeding the chickens. She gave them a small smile as she continued on her way. She was about half way there when she heard the men from the other group arguing over something. Curiosity getting the better of her, Tessa made her way over to the group. Shane and Rick were the ones arguing, while Dale, who was an old man, T-dog, Daryl, Andrea, and Carol surrounded them. Tessa made her way up to them.

"Rick you know just as well as I do that you only got 48 hours before you start looking for a body!" the man who Tessa was introduced to as Shane said loudly.

"I'm not giving up on a little girl," Rick retorted back.

"You're risking the lives of everyone you send out into those woods."

"You want to give up on a little girl?" Tessa said from outside the group. All eyes turned to look at her. They were shocked to hear the quiet, stand offish girl talk to them.

"It's a waste of time," Shane said, barley looking at her. He went back to address Rick, but Tessa, not being able to control her temper, walked up to him.

"You're a cop, aren't you?" Her question caught Shane off guard. "You should know better then anyone here that you don't leave one of your own behind. Even if you come back with a body, at least you found her."

"Mind your own damn business girl," Shane growled at Tessa. She just took a step towards him.

"Or what?" she hissed, inches from his face. "You'll hit me?" Shane blinked, obviously taken aback. Tessa rammed her shoulder into him as she passed him to continue her way towards the brick ruins.

Daryl watched as Tessa walked away from the group. Something in the way Daryl looked at her changed. He no longer thought of her as an annoying bitch, but as a respectable woman. Not even the woman in his own group had the balls to stand up to Shane like that. He knew the girl was broken, that much has obvious from their previous conversation, and Daryl was starting to feel pulled towards her.

"All right then, we're still going out to look for Sophia," Rick said, pulling Daryl's attention back to the problem at hand. Rick told them where they were to look for the missing girl. Daryl broke off from the group and headed out towards the woods. He had just passed the brick ruins when he heard Tessa.

"Good luck," she said from her perch on the bricks. Daryl gave a small nod before he continued on his way.

Tessa watched as Daryl made is way towards the woods. Tessa hoped they would find the girl. It was one hell of a world to get lost it. She sighed as she got up form her spot. She needed to keep busy. The nightmares were filling her with a type of nervous energy and if she didn't do something about it, she would go crazy. She took off in a direction away from the house. She was going to practice her throwing. There was a meadow that she had found the first few days that she had been on the farm.

When Tessa finally reached the meadow a sense of calm came over her. This was where she practiced her shooting and her throwing. It was where she felt safe. She knew Hershel wouldn't find her here, and knowing that he hated guns, Tessa felt safe using hers here. Not that she carried it around with her, but the thought was comforting. Tessa pulled the knifes that she always had with her out of their sheaths, and started aiming where she estimated a walkers head would be. Tessa spent all day out in her meadow perfecting her throw. When the sun was almost set, she heard rustling from the other end of the meadow. She whirled, and raised her knife, ready to throw. She braced herself for a fight, but it was only Daryl who came through the trees. She visibly exhaled, before she turned and threw the knife at the tree.

"Thought you were a walker," she said as se went to pull the knife free. "Might want to come with a warning next time."

"Wasn't expecting any one to be out here. How do ya do that?" he asked as he walked further into the meadow.

"Do what?" Tessa asked as she finally pulled the knife free.

"Throw them knives like that." Tessa looked at the rugged man before her. She never would have guessed that this hunter would be interested in throwing knives.

"Years of practice," she said honestly, "it's a lot harder then it looks." She held out her knife, hilt first, for Daryl to grab. He just looked at it. "You wanna try or not?" Daryl grabbed the knife from Tessa. She told him how to hold it, how to position your body to throw, and let him try it. The knife went wide, completely missing the tree. Daryl cursed loudly, making Tessa giggle. It surprised her. She hadn't heard herself giggle for a very long time.

"Harder then it looks, remember?" she said as she went to fetch her knife. Daryl just snorted. He pulled out his bow and shot an arrow at the tree to make himself feel better.

"How long you been huntin' with that thing?" Tessa asked when she saw the arrow in the tree.

"Long as I can remember," Daryl said as he walked towards Tessa and the arrow. She watched as he pulled it out.

"I've been throwin' knives since I was thirteen. I could teach you, if you were really interested," she added quietly. Daryl looked at her for a while. Tessa wasn't sure what to do. She was so used to cowering in front of men, but somehow she knew that Daryl wouldn't hurt her.

"We'll see," he said before turning to walk back to the farm. Tessa rolled her eyes before she ran to catch up with him. The two walked in silence for a long time. Tessa would have been lying if she said she didn't like the company. There was just something about Daryl that made Tessa feel safe. It was such a new feeling that Tessa didn't know how to describe it. She didn't remember the last time she felt safe around a man. The comfortable silence stretched out between the two, and when the farm came into view, Tessa finally broke it.

"Did you find anything today?" Daryl looked at his companion out of the corner of her eye.

"Found a house a ways back in the woods. Looks like she may have stopped there." Tessa nodded as she looked down at her feet. She wanted to help these people find this little girl. Tessa looked at Daryl, and noticed a flower in his hand.

"A Cherokee Rose," she said, mostly to herself, but Daryl had heard her.

"Found it by the house." A small smile touched Tessa's lips. She knew what the flowers meant.

"It's for the little girl, isn't it?" Tessa said as she looked up at the man. He nodded. Tessa smiled as she wrapped her arms around her. Oh how she wished someone had looked for her when she got lost. The two had reached the brick ruins, and Tessa stopped walking.

"Ya comin'?" Daryl called a little ways ahead of her. Tessa shook her head; she had too many thoughts to process to face anyone right now. Daryl just nodded before continuing on his way.  
Tessa sat against bricks and looked up into the darkening sky. She couldn't help but feel connected to this little girl. Maybe it was because she could relate to being lost and afraid. Or maybe she thought that if this little girl was found, and part of Tessa's past would be gone, that everything that had happened to her would be forgotten because this one little girl would be found and back with the people who cared about her. Tessa sat out there until the sky was filled with stars. She had decided to ask Rick if she could join the search for the missing Sophia, but first, Tessa wanted to talk to Sophia's mother Carol.

Tessa wandered towards the group who were sitting around a fire, all except for Daryl and Carol. Tessa glanced around, looking for Daryl and finally found him sitting by his tent. Tessa turned around and started toward the tent that was far away from everyone else.

"Where's Carol?" Tessa said, cutting straight to the pint. Daryl looked up at her then.

"Last time I saw her, she was in the RV." Tessa nodded before turning around to leave. "Hey!" Daryl called after her, making her turn around. "What are ya thinking 'bout doing?"

"I wanna help look for the little girl." Daryl just stared at her for moment, before he nodded, and Tessa went to look for Carol. No one stopped Tessa when she entered the RV. Carol was sitting by the table, looking out the window. Tessa also noticed the Cherokee rose sitting in an empty beer bottle on the counter.

"Carol?" Tessa said quietly. Carol turned to face her, wiping away her tears.

"Yes?"

"I wanna help look for your daughter, if that's okay." Tessa moved so she was sitting across form Carol. A small smile spread across Carol's face. Tessa couldn't help but feel connected to this woman and her missing daughter.

"If you want to help, who am I to say no," Carol said as she reached out and touched Tessa's hand. Tessa flinched slightly, not able to help herself. She was not used to affection. "You had a tough past, didn't you?" Tessa blushed as she looked down at her lap.

"Yes," she said quietly. "I didn't grow up in a safe home."  
"Neither did Sophia." Tessa's head snapped up. Carol was on the verge of tears again. "Her daddy, he got violent sometimes." Tessa's heart melted. This woman and her daughter were more like her then she had originally thought.

"But she had you; I didn't have a mother when my daddy got violent. She at least knew she was loved." Carol smiled a little before wiping her tears away again.

"Thank you," she whispered. Tessa smiled before she got up to leave. Carol needed time to herself. When she stepped out of the RV, everyone was looking at her. It made Tessa feel uncomfortable, so she ducked her head and headed out to her hammock. Daryl was still sitting outside of his tent, but he didn't acknowledge her. Tessa's talk with Carol brought up unwanted memories. Memories of her mother's funeral, and how her father had told her that she should have died, not her mother, how her father hit her, and stabbed her. How he would break bottles over her head. Instinctually, Tessa's hand went up to the scar above her left temple where a beer bottle had struck her.

"What're ya doing?" asked Daryl, bringing Tessa out of her thoughts. She sat up and looked at the strong man.

"Thinking," she said honestly. "Probably about things I should try to forget." Daryl snorted. The two were quiet for a long time. Tessa thought of a million questions that she wanted to ask the standoffish man who she felt drawn to, but the only one that seemed important came out of her mouth.

"How'd you find this group? You're so different from everyone." Daryl looked at her, thinking about the question. Usually he would jut blow off the question, but something in him made him answer, surprising himself.

"My brother and I heard 'bout a safe place in Atlanta. When Atlanta went to shit people just started grouping up. We got stuck with these guys."

"Where's your brother?" Tessa asked quietly, knowing that it may be a touchy subject.

"Gone," Daryl said quickly.

"I'm sorry."

"He aint dead." It was said angrily. Tessa got off of her hammock and squatted down in front of Daryl, making him make eye contact with her.

"I never said he was, and if he's anything like you, I know he's still alive." Daryl stared at the girl in front of him. She was so frustrating. She was like him, maybe even more broken. Daryl finally tore is gaze away and Tessa plopped down on the ground, staring at the stars.

"You're one hell of a mess," Daryl said under his breath, but Tessa heard. She snorted a bit.

"You don't know the half of it." Daryl looked at her then. He noticed the scars on her arms, the small one above her temple, the curve of her body, and the strong lean muscles the girl had. She was a survivalist and he was betting that she had been surviving for just as long as he had.

"How'd ya get the scar on yer head?" He asked finally. Tessa looked at him. She seemed to be reveling her self to these people a lot faster than she would have liked. She sighed, what the hell?

"My father broke a beer bottle over my head." Daryl kept her gaze before showing her a scar on his arm.

"Thrown 'gainst a nail." Tessa stared at the scar. The two had just reveled a very dark secret. They were both children of abuse, and in that moment, they were bonded together, and the longer they stared at each other, the more they knew it.

"I wanna help you look for Sophia tomorrow," Tessa blurted out, breaking the silence. Daryl just nodded, making Tessa smile. She got up then, and walked back to the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl watched Tessa as she walked away. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He had never told anyone about the scars before. It was his burden to bare and his alone, but she had told him about hers, and hearing her talk about them, made him want to do it too. It felt good to finally tell someone. He knew that he and Tessa were bound together now. Two broken souls finding each other. That was the way it always seemed to work. The broken found each other, and the broken took care of each other. Daryl grunted before he went into his tent. This was all so new for him. It had always been him and Merle, and no one else, but he wanted to be around Tessa. She was like him, she wanted to do good by others, but she was afraid to let anyone in. Daryl went to bed that night, with thoughts of the brown haired beauty running threw his mind.

_Tessa braced herself for the hit. She was thirteen and the school had called her home because she skipped one of her classes. Her father was furious. Her left arm was bleeding from a knife he had throw, her other arm was going to have a bruise from how hard he was gripping it. She gasped a little bit as his fist connected with her face. Her hands went up to her all ready swollen eye. _

_ "Ya tell anyone 'bout this, you'll be dead," her father threatened before flicking the cut on her arm and walking away. Her father slammed the front door and Tessa fell to her knees, crying. _

When Tessa woke up, she was crying. She growled as she wiped the annoying tears away. She quickly got out of bed, she was eager to look for Sophia today. When she made it out of the house, the other group was just starting to wake up. It was earlier then Tessa and thought when she rolled out of bed. She saw Rick, Shane, and T-Dog all standing together. She made her way towards the group of men.

"Morning Tessa," Rick said in greeting. Tessa ignored the glare that Shane was sending her way. Apparently he had hard feelings about the other day.

"Morning," she said in return, "um…I was wondering if I could help look for Sophia today." The three men looked shocked. Tessa didn't socialize with them, so for her to ask to help them, it was a bit of a surprise.

"Yeah, that would be great." Tessa smiled before she turned to go find Daryl. She wanted to get into the woods. As she was walking away, she could hear Shane telling Rick that she shouldn't be allowed to help them. She rolled her eyes as she continued her way to Daryl's tent. The door was slightly unzipped, and Tessa could hear him rustling around inside.

"Daryl," she called out to him. He stepped out of the tent, shirtless, and Tessa could see the other scars on his body. They were much like her own.

"What do ya want?" he asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"I wanna start looking for her."

"Yer an eager little shit aren't ya," he said as he grabbed his cross bow. Tessa rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. Daryl snorted, but a small smile touched his lips which in turn made Tessa smile. He really was an attractive man. The two walked towards Rick and the others. Rick told everyone where they should look today, and Tessa knew exactly where to go. She fallowed closely behind Daryl as they approached the woods. Once there, she took the lead. The two walked in silence for a while, but it was Daryl this time that broke it.

"How'd ya end up on the farm?" Tessa stopped what she was doing and looked at Daryl quizzically. "Ya asked me last night how I ended up with the group, now I'm asking ya how ya ended up on the farm." Tessa turned away from him. She still couldn't stand to think about that night without crying.

"I guess it was the day the world went to shit;" she started "I walked into the house I grew up in. My brother had turned, and my father had shot him. When I walked in, he shot me twice. When he saw it was just me, he shot me again." Tessa could feel the tears building in her eyes and her voice was getting shaky.

Daryl stared wide eyed at Tessa's back. He had asked her how she had ended up on the farm, and the story she was telling was not what he had expected at all. He could tell she was starting to cry, but he didn't know what to do, and it made him feel awkward.

"He was a terrible aim," she continued, "but if I didn't do what I did, he would have killed me." It didn't take a genius to guess that she had killed her father. "I ran then, and I found the farm." Daryl just stared at her. She shoulders were shaking from silent tears. What was he supposed to do? He was the one who made her cry. Daryl took a tentative step towards the girl, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ya did what ya had to," he said to the crying girl. Tessa snorted.

"I keep telling myself that," she whispered. "It was self defense, but I still can't get over it." Daryl just stared at her. What more could he do?

Tessa took comfort in the weight of Daryl's hand on her shoulder. It was a strange gesture, something she wasn't used to. It was odd, telling someone about her past, but it felt right talking to him. She quickly wiped away the tears.

"I'm sorry. Know you didn't want to hear any of that personal shit." Tessa was trying to lighten the mood now.

"I aint no good at this kinda shit," Daryl said honestly. Tessa smiled a bit at him.

"Neither am I, it's why we get along so well." Daryl smirked, but he knew that she was right. There was no body else that he could talk to, not even his big brother. They continued on their way as if nothing had happened.

"You know," Tessa said after a moment of silence, "since I'm being so honest with you, I've never told anybody that before. Not even Hershel, but it feels good to finally talk about it. I've never had anyone." Daryl put his hand on her shoulder again.

"Me either," he said honestly, surprising himself. Tessa stopped at looked at him.

"What about you're brother?" Daryl just shrugged.

"He's my brother. Pushed me around, and it's not like the Dixon's were the touchy feely kind of people anyway." Tessa nodded, accepting his answer. She took a look around her and realized that they were close to the ravine that she liked to go to when things were really bothering her. She tapped Daryl's arm to get his attention and led the way to the ravine. When they reached the top of the cliff they could see the far expanse of the forest. Daryl let out a low whistle.

"Wow," he said under his breath. Tessa just watched him. It was a great feeling being out here with someone who appreciated it just as much as she did. Tessa put a hand on his shoulder, pushed her self up on her toes, and kissed Daryl's cheek. An immediate blush spread across his cheeks as he looked at her in shock.

"Thank you," she said as she looked at her feet. "For listening to me and putting up with me." Daryl was silent, and when Tessa looked up at him, he was still blushing. It made Tessa smirk a little. He obviously wasn't used to affection.

"Come on," Tessa said to the blushing Daryl, "let's keep looking."

Tessa and Daryl were in the forest all day, and when they decided to head back, the sun was setting over the horizon. Tessa had enjoyed her time with Daryl. It was strange, letting this man into her life. She barley knew him, but a part of her felt connected to him in some way that she had never felt before. When they got back to the farm, nobody was outside. The two stopped where the fire was usually going. Daryl looked a round for second, and then turned to go towards his tent.

"You don't want to look for them?" Tessa asked the retreating man. Daryl turned to look at her.

"They can take care of 'em selves," he said before he continued on his way. Tessa just shrugged before she went into the house, and she found the other group. They had made dinner.

"Tessa," Carol said with a smile on her face, "please, join us." A small smile touched Tessa's face as she walked into the dinning room. She took a seat next to Beth. She noticed Maggie and Glenn passing flirtatious glances at each other. Tessa smirked as she looked down at her plate full of food. She knew that those two were going to end up together. When dinner was over, and everything was cleaned up and put away, Tessa prepared another plate. She snuck out of the back door and headed towards the tent far from everyone else. There was a small fire going and Tessa could see Daryl sitting by it.

"Hey," she said as she approached him. He turned and gave her a small nod in acknowledgment. "I brought you some food." Tessa shyly passed the plate to Daryl. It was so unlike her. Daryl looked at the plate of food for a moment before taking it.

"What is it?" he asked as he continued to look at it.

"Venison." Daryl started to eat.

"Can't tell ya how sick I am of squirrel." Tessa laughed a little as she stared at the flames. She couldn't remember the last time she felt completely comfortable being alone with a man. Even when she first arrived at the farm she couldn't be in the same room as Hershel without Beth or Maggie. It was so different with Daryl. Maybe it was because they were so similar.

"Ya gunna look for Sophia tomorrow?" Daryl asked when he finished his plate. Tessa nodded. "Why are ya lookin' for a girl ya don't even know?" Tessa shrugged and looked at Daryl out of the corner of her eye.

"She's like me, except she's got a mamma who loves her."

"Yer mom didn't love ya?" Daryl asked raising an eye brow.  
"I'm sure she did, but I was so young when she died that I barely remember her. When I think about my childhood all I think about is everything that my father did to me."

"Sorry," Daryl said quietly. Tessa just shrugged. "My mom died when I was a kid too. Died in a fire." Tessa stared at him for a moment. He was such a broken man.

"Car accident," Tessa said. When Daryl looked at her in confusion Tessa added, "How my mom died. I was in the car. According to my dad it should have been me who died." Tessa could feel the weight of Daryl's eyes on her as she stared at the fire.

"I'm glad it wasn't ya," Daryl finally said quietly. Tessa snapped her head in his direction. He had revealed some of his past to her, but she never expected him to say anything like that to her…ever. The two held eye contact and again, there was that feeling like they were bound to each other.

"Thank you," she whispered, afraid to break the connection that was taking place. Daryl started to blush and quickly looked away from her, as if he realized what he had just done. Tessa sighed before she stood up.

"It's late, I'll see you tomorrow," she said before she kissed Daryl on the cheek. "Goodnight Daryl."


	5. Chapter 5

She had kissed him. Not a real kiss, just one on the cheek, but a kiss none the less. It was the second time that day that she had kissed him on the cheek. As she was walking towards the house, Daryl watched her. It was strange. He had never felt this close to someone before. He wasn't even sure how he felt about her. There was something between the two of them, that much was certain, but just what it was, he didn't know. He stirred the fire as he thought about the day. He thought about all that Tessa had revealed to him, and all that he had revealed to her. She had said that she had never talked to anyone about it before, and he had never talked to anyone about his past before either. It was strangely refreshing, but at the same time, just so strange. It was almost foreign to him. Daryl grunted out of frustration before going to his tent for the night.

_Tessa slammed the door behind her and locked it. Her father threw himself at the door, and Tessa backed up into the room. Blood was seeping through her shirt from the fresh cut that her father had inflicted on her. _

_ "Bitch!" he roared, "you best let me in 'fore I get really angry!" he slammed himself against the door again. Tessa wanted to scream, to cry, but she couldn't. It would just give her father the satisfaction that he wanted. He threw himself against the door for a third time, and this time it gave. He stared at his daughter with angry eyes and stormed toward her. _

_ "Ya fucker," he spat at her. Tessa stood her ground as her father charged towards her. She braced herself for the pain. Her father grabbed her by the hair and pulled her across the room. "How dare ya disobey me," he hissed in her ear. He pulled her head up, and brought it down forcefully._

Tessa woke up screaming that morning. She had woken up right before her head hit the desk that was in the room she had locked herself in. Tessa was trying to get her breathing under control when Hershel came running into the room with Beth behind him. They looked so worried.

"Just a nightmare," she said when she was able to speak again. Hershel looked at her sadly. He so wished that he could help her in some way. Beth moved to comfort Tessa, but Hershel put a hand on his daughters shoulder to stop her. He knew that Tessa didn't want their pity.

"I'm fine," Tessa said, trying to reassure the girl that she had grown fond of. "Really." Beth's face relaxed a little as she left the room with her father. Tessa ran her hands threw her hair as she took a calming breath. It was around five in the morning, and Tessa knew that there was no possible way she would be able to fall back asleep. Since sleep was out of the question, Tessa decided to start her search for Sophia early. She got dressed and headed down stairs only to find Hershel in the kitchen.

"You gave me quiet a fright there girl," he said in regards to her screamin.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Don't be sorry," he said as he came up to her. "You can't help it. I just wish there was something I could do to help." Tessa gave him a small smile. She owed this man so much.

"I'm going to start looking for Sophia since I won't be able to go back to sleep. Will you tell the others for me?" Hershel nodded and Tessa gave him a small peck on the cheek before running out of the door and towards the woods.

When Daryl woke, he looked for Tessa. He had assumed that the two of them would continue their search, but the girl was no where to be found. He rounded the house to see Rick and the others gathered around the truck. When he reached them they were talking about where to pick up the search today.

"There's a ravine over here," Daryl said as he point to a spot on the map. "Figured I'd borrow a horse, gets a birds eye view of the place." Rick nodded in agreement.

"Maybe you'll see your chupacabrra from up there," T-dog said in a mocking manner.

"Chupacabrra?" Rick asked. He wasn't with the group when Daryl had shared the story.

"First night in camp Daryl goes on to tell us a story about he saw a chupacabrra one night while he was hunting," Dale informed the cop. Jimmy, who was Beth's boyfriend, started laughing.

"What ya braying at jackass?" Daryl retorted.

"You believe in a bloodsucking dog?" Jimmy said incredulously.

"You believe in dead people walking around?" Daryl said as he started to walk away from the group.

"Daryl," Rick called after him. Daryl stopped. "Tessa going with you?"

"Couldn't find her," Daryl said as he continued on his way towards the woods.

Tessa had gone a little further than she and Daryl had gone the day before and hadn't seen anything. Around noon she had climbed a tree to take a small break. She leaned against the tree trunk and listened to the sounds of the forest. She had always enjoyed being in the forest. Whether it was this one, or the one that had been behind her old house, she had always found peace in the forests.

Tessa had been the tree for about and hour before she started to doze. She hadn't slept very well the night before and the nightmares were taking a lot out of her. She decided to head back to the farm. She would be no help in the search for Sophia if she wasn't at her peak performance. Tessa had just made it out of the tree when a horse raced past her. Tessa watched the horse disappear then ran to the ravine. Something was wrong. She could feel it. When she reached the ravine, she quickly scanned around. Her eyes came to rest on Daryl, who was fighting off a walker.

"Daryl!" Tessa called out, surprising herself. Her instincts took over and she carefully slid down the side of the ravine until she reached the bottom. Daryl was still struggling with the walker as Tessa ran towards them. She pulled out a knife and plunged it into the walkers head right as it was about to snap at Daryl. When Daryl saw her, his eyes widened.

"What the hell happened?" Tessa barked at him.

"Horse threw me," he said. He was delirious. Tessa quickly scanned him over and saw an arrow sticking out of his side. He must have fallen on it.

"I need to get you back to the farm," she said more to herself. She stood up and thought about how to reach the top of the ravine with an injured man. When Tessa looked back at Daryl, he was pulling the arrow out of his side. He let out a groan as the arrow slowly came free.

"Oh hell," Tessa whispered under her breath. She helped Daryl up and led him to the side of the ravine. Tessa was just shoving him up to give him a boost, when another walker started walking towards them. She knew she had to lead the walker away from Daryl.

"Daryl, listen to me," she said, addressing the delusional man. He kept mumbling to himself as if someone else was there. He turned to look at her, but Tessa couldn't tell if he was actually listening or not. "You need to get to the top, and once you get to the top you need go back to the farm so Hershel can fix that wound. You hear me?" Daryl nodded as he started the long climb up. Tessa took a deep breath before heading towards the walker. She knew that she had to keep it interested on her, so that it wouldn't realize it had easier prey just yards away.

Tessa threw a rock at its head to get it to look at her. Once the walker's attention was on her, she started to back up towards the woods. She wanted to lead it as far away from the ravine as she could before she killed it. That way it wouldn't go after Daryl, and if by some miracle that it got out of the ravine, it wouldn't find a way to the farm. Tessa didn't have her gun on her, and with only one knife left she didn't want to take any chances of missing the kill. It was just best to get as far away from Daryl so if she did miss her mark, the thing wouldn't go after the injured man.

Tessa had lost sight of the ravine and Daryl. The walker was still fallowing her, but she wanted to get just a little farther from the ravine before she killed it. She was so focused on the walker in front of her that she didn't hear the other one. It came out from behind a tree and lunged towards Tessa. She narrowly managed to get away from it, but in her attempt to dodge the lunging walker, she fell to the ground. Seeing that their prey was down, the walkers sped up in there advances. Tessa quickly popped up and pulled her last knife out.

"Let's dance boys," she said as she prepared herself for a fight. She lunged herself at the closest walker and plunged the knife in between its eyes. Blood spurted out getting on Tessa. She ignored it as she pulled the knife out and whirled to see the second walker closer then she would have thought. It started snapping at her, but Tessa was quick. She brought her knife up and plunged it in the walker's temple. More blood got on Tessa's arm, and as she pulled the knife out she whipped some of it off.

Tessa took a deep breath as she looked at the two dead walkers around her. This was not what she was expecting to happen when she woke up this morning. She remembered Daryl then, and how he had been injured. Tessa ran towards the ravine. She had to make sure the he was out of there. When she reached the spot where she had found Daryl, he was no where to be found. Tessa let out her breath. He had made it out. Tessa pulled her other knife out of the walkers head before looking up at the sheer incline before she started her ascent towards the top.


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl walked out of the forest, dragging his crossbow behind him. Tessa had helped him get out of the ravine. She had told him to go back to the farm, so he did. He could see three people running towards him. As they got closer, he could see that it was Rick, Shane, and Glenn. They all had their guns raised.

"That's the third time ya've held that gun to my head," Daryl roared. He was exhausted. He didn't need this right now. "Ya gunna pull the trigger or what?" Rick lowered his gun, but a shot rang out and Daryl fell to the ground. There was now a pain on the side of his head. The three mean ran to Daryl and helped him up.

"I was kidding," he said as he tried not to pass out. Shane and Rick started to drag him towards the farm and he just couldn't take it anymore. Daryl passed out.

Tessa jogged all the way back to the farm. She needed to know that Daryl had made it back, and that he was okay. When the farm finally came into view, Tessa sped up. She rounded the house to see Andrea and Dale sitting on the front step. They stared at her wide eyes. They saw the blood on her and her disheveled hair.

"What happened to you?" Andrea asked. Tessa imagined she looked something like a deer in the head lights.

"I found Daryl." As soon as Tessa said his name, Andrea's eyes dropped to her lap. "What happened?"

"I…"Andrea started. Tessa just stared at her. Something bad had happened. "When Daryl came out of the woods, he looked like a walker. We couldn't get a clear look at him from the glare of the sun. I shot him." Tessa's mouth fell open. She pushed past Andrea and Dale and went storming into the house. She was just about to open the door where Hershel was taking care of everyone's medical needs, when he came out.

"Tessa," he started, but she didn't let him finish.

"What's happening?" Hershel sighed as she looked at her.

"He's fine. Stitched up the wound from the arrow, and the bullet just skimmed the side of his head." Tessa relaxed a little. It was good to know that he was going to be okay. "Tessa," Hershel continued, "I want you to be in charge of his healing process. For what ever the reason, he listens to you." Tessa stared at Hershel for a moment before nodding. She then turned and headed towards the kitchen where she could hear the woman bustling about. They were preparing dinner, and Tessa offered to help them.

When dinner was finally done, everyone took the same seat that they had had the time before. Tessa just spread her food around with her fork. She just wasn't hungry. Instead, she watched Glenn and Maggie exchange flirtatious glances and pass notes like school children. Tessa only perked up when Carol got up.

"Where are you going?" Lori asked the other woman.

"Figured I'd bring Daryl some dinner, other wise he won't eat," Carol said before leaving the room. Tessa watched her go before turning to look at Hershel.

"When did you put those bandages on him?" Tessa asked Hershel.

"A while a go," he responded. Tessa nodded before excusing herself from the table. She walked down the hall towards the room that Daryl was in. She stopped outside the door while Carol talked to him. Tessa was trying not to eaves drop, but she couldn't help herself.

"You did more today for my little girl then her daddy did in his whole life," Tessa heard Carol say. Tess took a deep breath. She had been right. She and Sophia had a lot in common. Tessa gave Carol a small nod as she came out of the room. When Tessa entered the room, she shut the door behind her. She had a feeling that Daryl may get a bit ornery while she changed his bandages.

"How are you feelin'?" Tessa asked as she approached the bed. Daryl pulled the covers up his chest to hide his bare chest. It just made Tessa smile. "You had quite the fall today." Daryl snorted.

"What ya want?" he asked her. Tessa gave him a look.

"I need to change you're bandages so sit up." Daryl rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. Tessa rummaged in the medical supplies until she found the anti-bacterial ointment and more gauze. She turned around and found Daryl looking at her. She blushed a little as she walked towards him. She decided to start with the head wound. She cut the gauze off and got a look at the bullet wound. It wasn't the first bullet wound she had seen, but her stomach dropped slightly.

"Heard it was Andrea who shot you," she said as she applied the ointment to his head. He flinched slightly, but didn't complain.

"Bitch," Daryl said quietly. Tessa snorted. "What ya snortin' at?"

"Nothing, just with the attitude you give everyone I'm kinda surprised that no one shot you sooner," she said in a sarcastic tone that made Daryl smirk.

"Shut up," he said with the smirk still on his face. Tessa smiled as she wrapped his head again. She moved to cut the gauze off of his torso and could feel herself blushing. She didn't know why she was getting embarrassed. It was only Daryl. When the gauze fell away from his body, Tessa could see all of the scars. She just stared. She had so many identical scars. It was strange to her that she wasn't the only one who had gone through so much pain growing up.

"What the hell ya staring at?" Daryl asked angrily as he went to cover himself up with the blanket. Tessa, realizing her mistake, quickly put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"I'm sorry," she said avoiding eye contact. She knew how it felt to have people stare at the scars. "I've never known anyone else with scars like mine." Tessa took a step back and lifted her shirt up so Daryl could see her stomach. It was covered in similar scars. It was his turn to stare. He had known that she was abused as a kid; he just hadn't thought that it was that bad. She pulled her shirt down, making him blink. Tessa went back to addressing the wound. Daryl just watched as she worked. When she had secured the fresh gauze, he broke the growing silence.

"Thank you," he said when she looked at him.

"For what?"

"For helpin' me." Tessa studied his face. It was a sincere thank you.

"You're welcome," she said before putting all the medical supplies away. When everything was away, Tessa took a seat next to Daryl on the bed. "I hope you would've done the same."

"I believe I would," he said as he held her gaze intently. Tessa held eye contact with Daryl, and slowly reached a hand out towards him. She placed her hand on the side of his face and ran her thumb across his cheek bone. It was so weird letting her walls down, but she knew Daryl was different, she knew he understood her. Slowly, their faces got closer and closer. Before Tessa realized what was happening, Daryl closed the small space remaining between them and his lips collided with hers.

Tessa melted into Daryl. She brought her other hand up to his face and held it. Daryl had one hand on the side of her face and the other on the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. The kiss deepened and the world around them disappeared. Tessa forgot where she was, and how this man came into her life. All that mattered in that moment was Daryl.

A knock on the door made the two tare away from each other. Tessa just stared at Daryl and he stared right back. She could feel a blush creep up her face as she continued to look at him. She didn't know how to process what had just happened.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, still out of breath. Daryl shook his head.

"No idea." There was another knock at the door. Tessa slowly got up, and finally took her gaze away from Daryl to answer the door. It was Hershel.

"Everything alright in here? You've been in here for a while," he said to Tessa. Tessa nodded.

"Just finished up," she said, avoiding Hershel's studious gaze. She quickly left the room and made her way upstairs. What ever had just happened with Daryl had Tessa's head spinning. She would be lying if she had said that she didn't like, and she knew that she wanted to go back down stairs and kiss Daryl again, but at the same time, it terrified her.

Daryl stared at the door. What the hell had just happened with Tessa? He had never done anything like that before. Hershel was in the room with him now, and he was glaring at Daryl. He approached him on the bed and Daryl calmly looked at him.

"If you hurt her, I'll hurt you." Daryl just stared at Hershel. He didn't know anything him or Tessa. Tessa was like him, and he would never lay a finger on her. Hershel shut the door behind and Daryl just sat there.

He was still trying to wrap is head around that kiss. He hadn't planned on kissing her, it just sort of happened. He had never been in love before. There had been other women, but they were just whores that he had banged, but there was something about Tessa. When ever he saw her he got a strange feeling in his gut. He felt the need to be with her, to protect her. He growled as he lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Everything was so strange to him. He couldn't stop thinking about Tessa, and the fact that he wanted to kiss her again was driving him crazy. He had to convince himself not to storm out of that room to go find her. He couldn't put a name to the way he felt about Tessa, but it terrified him, and Daryl Dixon is not one who scares easily.

Tessa sat on her bed and stared at the wall as she tried to process what had just happened. She just couldn't wrap her head around it. She finally fell asleep around three in the morning. It was the first night since the nightmares had started that she got a decent nights sleep. When she woke up, the sun was all ready up. She rubbed her eyes as she rolled out of bed. She had to change Daryl's bandages again.

Tessa made her way to the room where she had left Daryl, only to find that he was gone. She let out an exasperated sigh before she headed out side to look for him. The first place she went was to his tent, but he wasn't there either. He was surprisingly mobile for man who had just been impaled by an arrow. She wandered towards the other group at the front of the house.

"Has anyone seen Daryl?" she asked to anyone who would listen.

"Last I saw him, he was heading towards the horses," Dale answered from his post on top of the RV. Tessa nodded before she headed towards the stable. As she got closer to the door, she could hear Daryl, and he sounded angry.

"Leave me be!" he roared. "Stupid Bitch." Tessa watched his retreating back for a moment. He hadn't even noticed she was there. Tessa entered the stables to see Carol standing there, staring at the saddle that Daryl and thrown.

"Carol," Tessa said tentatively. Carol looked up at Tessa and a slight smile touched her lips.

"Morning Tessa," she said.

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Tessa asked. She didn't want it to be true, but she needed to be sure.

"Oh heavens no," Carol said, a little shocked at the allegation. "Daryl may be an angry man, but I don't think he would ever hurt a woman." Tessa sighed and smiled.

"I don't think he would either." Tessa moved to pick up the saddle and Carol left the barn. Now that Tessa was reassured that Daryl was a good guy, she went to find him…again. This time he was in his tent. She entered without announcing herself. Daryl just looked at her before going back to playing with his arrow. He had taken the gauze off of his head.

"I need to see your side," Tessa said. Daryl just looked at her again before getting up and walking towards the house. Tessa rolled her eyes. So he was going to be like that today. When Tessa entered the medical room, Daryl was standing with his shirt off, and Tessa blushed again. Daryl noticed and smirked.

"Shut up," she said as a small smile touched her lips. Tessa went to work on his wounds in silence.

"About last night…" Daryl started as Tessa was putting gauze on the arrow punctures. He was uncomfortable. Tessa could see it in his posture and the look on his face.

"Don't," she said as she finished. Daryl gave her a quizzical look. "Don't tell me that you're sorry, or that it was a mistake. If you do then I'll just over analyze it and I'll end up regretting it. I don't want to regret it." Daryl just looked at her for a while. Tessa looked into his eyes and she found herself thinking about how beautiful they were.

"Ya saying ya liked it?" Daryl said. He was trying not to smirk which only made Tessa smile. She nodded and watched as Daryl's smirk grew. "Good," he whispered huskily. Tessa almost melted on the spot. Daryl put a rough hand on the side of her face and it was Tessa's turn to close the gap. This kiss was full of hunger and lust. When the two pulled apart, they were both out of breath.

"Wow," Daryl said as he looked at Tessa. She smirked; glad to get that response out of him.

"You need to rest today," Tessa said, addressing the fiasco from the barn this morning. Daryl growled and shook his head.

"I can't just stay 'ere and do nothin'," he said. He was going to get angry. Tessa understood the need to find this little girl. She felt it too, but she knew that there was no way that Daryl's body would be able to handle the stress.

"Wanna learn how to throw knives?" she suggested half heartedly. She didn't think Daryl would want to, but to her surprise he agreed to, and he seemed rather excited to learn. Give the man a chance to learn a new weapon and he was like a kid on Christmas. Tessa laughed.

"But in return I want you to teach me how to shoot that bow of yours." Daryl laughed a little at her.

"Ya got ya self a deal," he said with a smile on his face. Tessa really liked that smile of his.


	7. Chapter 7

Tessa and Daryl wandered out to the meadow that Tessa liked to practice in. They got a couple of quizzical looks from the people remaining at the house, but both of them ignored it. Once at the meadow, Tessa gave Daryl a knife and told him how to hold it and how to throw. They had been out there for about an hour and Daryl had yet to hit the target.

"God dammit," he roared as the knife threw wide again. Tessa trotted over to where it had landed and brought it back to the frustrated man.

"You have to learn the weight of the knife, other wise the rotation won't be right." Daryl looked at the knife in disgust which made Tessa smile. "Lots of practice, remember?" Daryl rolled his eyes and picked up his cross bow.

"I've had enough, its yer turn." Tessa smiled. She had always wanted to shoot a cross bow. Daryl stood behind her, and brought her arms up to the right level. Tessa let out a slow breath and pulled the trigger. The arrow flew through the air and hit the tree. Tessa squealed in excitement. Daryl gave her a strange look before going to pull the arrow free.

"Nice shot," he said as he handed her the arrow. Tessa smirked, proud of what she had done.

"Always been a good shot with a gun, figured this would be kinda the same." Daryl snorted as he took the bow from her.

"Ya kinda a smart ass aren't ya?" he said as he stepped towards her. Tessa smirked, taking a step towards Daryl, making the space between them shrink.

"One of my charming attributes," she retorted. Daryl snorted before pulling Tessa's head towards him. There lips collided, and again the kiss was hungry and lustful. The world disappeared and in that moment it was only Daryl and Tessa. Daryl's hands were tangled in Tessa's hair, while hers were holding onto his neck. Their tongues explored the others mouth as they continued to kiss. They pulled apart when they couldn't breathe anymore. They stood there, out of breath, and just stared at each other. Every time he kissed her, Tessa's whole world shifted, like all that mattered was him. It was nerve wracking, and she didn't know how to process it.

"Well that was intense," Tessa said when she could breathe normally. Daryl smirked.

"Ya aint so bad ya self," he said, taking what Tessa said as a complement on his kissing. Tessa punched his arm lightly when a gun shot rang through the air. Tessa and Daryl shared a worried look before running in the direction it came from. More shots rang out and Daryl and Tessa quickened their pace. They came to another clearing where Shane and Rick were teaching everyone how to shoot. Tessa relaxed, knowing that nothing bad was happening. It took about five minutes before Rick of Shane realized that Daryl and Tessa were there. It was only when Tessa stepped on a stick, making it snap, that everyone turned to see the two standing there.

"Hey jarhead," Shane said in a rude manner. Tessa crossed her arms over her body. Shane made her feel uncomfortable. "Hershel says you got good aim. Let's see it." It was a challenge.

"Don't got my gun," Tessa said, not taking her eyes off of Shane. She wanted to be able to see his every move.

"Use mine." Shane held his gun out, handle forward, but didn't approach Tessa. She hesitated a little too long before walking towards him and taking the gun. She gave Shane a deadly look before walking back to the tree line.

"Everybody back by the trees," Rick announced. All the cans were set up on the fence. Apparently this group wasn't a good aim. Tessa stole a glance towards Daryl to see Carol standing by him. An unwelcome feeling flared in Tessa's stomach as she quickly looked away.

What the hell was that, she thought to herself. Tessa shook her head before focusing on the cans. She took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger. She hit one can right after the other, not once missing her mark. When she had hit all the cans, she shot once more, hitting a pheasant that was flying away. Everyone just stared at her. She walked towards Shane and gave his gun back without saying a word. The look he gave her was that of disapproval. He had wanted her to mess up.

"There's dinner by the way," Tessa called over her shoulder as she walked away from the group, "someone may want to go get that."

Tessa stormed back to the farm house. She didn't care that Daryl hadn't fallowed her, she didn't care that Shane hated her, she didn't care that she was alone. It was better that way. She was slowly realizing that she was developing feelings for Daryl. It scared her. She had never been in love before, and the feelings she had for Daryl were so different from any she had ever had. Tessa didn't want to have feelings for him, it was just her for so long and that was how she had intended on keeping it, but thinking about Daryl leaving caused a pain in her chest. When Tessa reached the old brick ruins, she punched it.

"Dammit!" she screamed as she cradled her hand. Her knuckles were bleeding. She sat on the ground and ran her fingers through her hair. Feelings, they were so frustrating.

Tessa stayed out by the ruins for the rest of the day trying to organize her scrambled thoughts. It was dark now, and she could hear Ricks group laughing around their fire. She almost missed the sound of approaching footsteps. She didn't have to look up to see that it was Daryl.

"Ya been out 'ere all day." The way he said it was a statement instead of a question. Tessa just shrugged as Daryl took a seat next to her. He was waiting for her to explain herself.

"I've had a lot on my mind." Tessa stole a look at Daryl to see that he was studying her face. She blushed before she looked down at her hands and started picking at her nails.

"Shane's a bastard. Yer the only girl to stand up to him and he hates ya for it." Tessa snorted. She knew that Shane hated her; it was just different to hear someone say it.

"I wasn't thinking 'bout Shane Daryl. Trust me; I wouldn't waste my time on a piece of shit like him." Daryl grunted in agreement before he took a seat next to Tessa. She looked at him and studied his face. There was just something about Daryl that she was drawn to, and she didn't want to that to be taken away. The two of them sat in silence for a long time. When Tessa felt her eyes getting heavy, she rested her head on Daryl's shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered. She wasn't even sure if Daryl was able to hear her.

"Fer what?" Tessa shrugged as she closed her eyes. She didn't even know what she was thanking him for.

"Everything you're doing for me." Daryl snorted, but Tessa knew that he was smiling to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

When Tessa woke, the sun was just starting to come up. She blinked, confused at her surroundings. Had she slept by the ruins all night? She turned to see Daryl propped up against the bricks, fast asleep.

"Take that as a yes," she said to herself. She sighed as she looked back at the farm. She no longer wanted to run away from this place. She cared for the Greene family and she knew that they cared for her. A grunt from behind her made Tessa tare her gaze away from the farm. Daryl was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. A small smile touched Tessa's lips.

"Why the hell did we sleep out 'ere?" he asked as he looked at his surroundings. Tessa snorted a little and slapped his arm.

"Come on, better get back 'fore people start to talk." Daryl snorted but stood up. The two of them walked back in a comfortable silence. When they reached the farm, Daryl went to go to his tent, and Tessa made to go in the house. As she was about to leave, Daryl grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. His lips collided with hers.

"Let 'em talk," he said in a husky voice that made Tessa's whole body shiver. A small smirk touched Daryl's lips before he finally went to his tent. Tessa just stared at the spot where Daryl had stood. She touched her lips and a smile spread across her face. She was beginning to think that Daryl had feelings for her too.

It was slow day on the farm. Hershel and Jimmy had taken Rick out into the woods, Maggie was with Glenn and Daryl had taken Carol out to where Cherokee roses grew. So Tessa spent most of her day with Beth. They kept busy by doing chores around the farm. When Tessa started to get antsy, she retreated back to her room. She dug out an old box that she had taken with here when she ran from home. She opened it to find an old necklace. She closed the box and brought it with her out to the ruins. When she reached her destination, she opened the box and pulled out the necklace. It was delicate chain with a small sparrow charm. It was the only thing of her mother's that she had ever had. Tessa slipped the necklace on. When she heard yelling, she looked back at the farm. What has happening? It was when she heard gunshots that she took off at a sprint towards the farm.

When Tessa saw that Rick and Hershel had walkers, she sped up. What the hell was happening? Tessa was getting nearly to the group when Shane started to unlock the barn door. Maggie was by Hershel who was on his knees, and Jimmy was holding a hysterical Beth. Te people of Rick's group had their guns. When the barn door was open, Tessa froze in her tracks. Walkers, there had been walkers in the barn. Shane, Daryl, Andrea, and T-dog started to shoot the walkers down. Tessa just stared in horror. How had she not known about this?

One by one the walkers dropped to the ground. Tessa took a tentative step forward when a sound came from the barn. There was still one more left. Tessa froze when a small girl walked out. Tessa knew immediately who it was. It was Carol's daughter.

"Sophia…" Carol manages to squeak out. She ran towards her daughter, but Daryl caught her before she got herself into trouble. Everyone just stared as Sophia came closer. Finally, Rick stepped up and shot the little girl in the head. Tessa stared at the mess of bodies with a look of horror mixed with sorrow.

A hysterical Beth started to walk towards the dead bodies. Rick tried to stop her, but she shook his hand off and looked for her mother. She knelt down, but the walker groaned and reached for her. Tessa ran towards Beth and tried to pull her away from danger. When she was satisfied that Beth was okay, she whirled on Hershel and Maggie.

"What the hell is this?" she said her voice an angry whisper. No one answered. "What the hell is this?" she shouted this time. Maggie flinched and Hershel jumped.

"Tessa…" Hershel started. He sounded like his mind was far away. "I'm sorry. We should have told you." Hershel looked down at the ground while Tessa just stared at him. She had trusted these people. How could they keep something like this from her? She needed to get away from the Greene family and Rick's group before she said something that she would regret. She shook her head to clear her thoughts before she started to run towards the woods.

When Tessa took off, Daryl took a step as if to fallow her, but at the same moment Carol started to walk away from the group. Daryl reached out to stop her.

"Get your hands off me," she said angrily as she retreated towards the camp. He didn't know what to do. Daryl looked back at the small body that was Sophia. A rage started to build in his stomach. How could this have happened? HE was so sure that they would they find her. Now she was dead, had been dead this whole time.

"What…what do we do with the bodies?" Jimmy asked as she stared.

"Bury the ones we love, burn the rest," Andrea answered. Jimmy only nodded slightly. Maggie helped Hershel up to head back towards the farm, and that's when Shane started yelling at them.

"You knew!" he screamed as he fallowed Hershel and his family back towards the farm. Rick took off after his friend, and Daryl fallowed Rick. Looks like he would be checking up on Carol first.

Once Tessa had made it to the woods, she didn't stop moving. She couldn't, if she did her thoughts would run rampant on the betrayal that had just happened. She walked for hours. She walked until he sun went down and even then she just kept walking. She didn't even recognize where she was. She finally came to a break in the woods and she could see the barn on the horizon. She growled under her breath. She didn't want to be here, but sleeping in the forest wasn't safe. Tessa took a deep breath before trudging back towards the farm.

She passed the farm house and continued her way towards the ruins. She would be spending another night out there. As she got closer, she could hear Daryl shouting. Who he was shouting at could be anyone's guess. Tessa knew how much he wanted to find Sophia. Seeing her as a walker must be tearing him apart.

As she got closer, she could see Carol standing there, taking the brunt of Daryl's anger. As much as Tessa didn't want to admit it, she knew that Carol and Daryl had bonded while they were on the farm. Tessa stood in the shadows as Daryl ranted. He took a step towards Carol, making her flinch. Tessa stepped on a twig, making Daryl and Carol look in her direction.

"Come on Carol," Tessa said as she shot Daryl a glare. She knew that she was angry, but that was no excuse to act like that to Carol. Tessa put her arm around Carol's shoulders and started to lead her away. Daryl's eyes were heavy on her back.

"I just don't want him to retreat from the group," Carol said as the two women walked back towards the farm. "Finding Sophia meant so much to him…" Carol's voice broke on her daughter's name. Tessa's arm tightened around her shoulder.

"I know it did, and I'll talk to him. He shouldn't be taking his anger out on you." They had made it to the RV and Carol turned to look at Tessa.

"Thank you Tessa. For everything." Tessa just smiled slightly at Carol as she entered the RV. Tessa sighed angrily before turning around to head back to the ruins. She knew she had to talk to Daryl; she just didn't want to deal with anyone at the moment.

When Tessa got back to the ruins, Daryl was sitting by the fire that he had built. Tessa stood across from him with her hands on her hips. Daryl ignored her which just made her even angrier. When she had enough of the cold shoulder, she picked up a small rock and threw it at him.

"What the hell is yer problem," Daryl roared, no longer able to ignore Tessa.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tessa screamed at him. Daryl opened his mouth to say something, but Tessa wouldn't let him. "Carol cares about you Daryl! You spent more energy looking for her little girl then anyone else here! All she wanted was to make sure you were okay!"

"It's none of her damn business if I'm okay or not," Daryl retorted back as he rounded the fire to stand face to face with Tessa. Tessa stared at him. She was fuming. She had no reason to be mad at Daryl, but all the emotions that she had been feeling earlier were bringing her to a breaking point. Tessa lifted her hand to slap, but Daryl grabbed her hand, stopping her. Before Tessa could try to pull free from his strong grip, Daryl pulled her towards him.

They're lips collided. All the anger and frustration could be felt in that kiss. It was rough and hard, and just what they needed. Daryl pushed Tessa up against the ruins as the kiss became hungrier. With shaking hands, Tessa slowly undid Daryl's shirt, and to her surprise, he let her. When his shirt was off, he lifted Tessa up from her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to his tent.

_ Tessa held onto her sore hand. She had just pinched her brother in the nose. He had been using her as a punching bag to practice his fight skills. When Tessa had finally had enough she hit him. Her daddy came storming outside and saw what she had done. _

_ "You stupid bitch," he roared as he grabbed Tessa by the hair and pulled her towards the house. Tessa was trying so hard not to cry. When they reached the house, her daddy threw her on the ground. _

_ "But daddy," Tessa said as the tears finally started to fall down her face. "He was hitting me!" _

_ "He can do what ever he wants to ya! Yer just a stupid whore anyways." He grabbed her by the hair again, and punched her in the stomach. _

Tessa sat up suddenly. Most of the nightmares were just about her father. It was rare to dream about her brother. She was breathing heavy and didn't recognize where she was. She scanned her surroundings and her eyes came to rest on a sleeping Daryl. Tessa stared at him as thoughts of last night came back. Tessa blushed as she remembered what it felt like to have Daryl pressed against her. Tessa looked down at her self and saw that she was still naked. Her blush deepened as hastily got up and found her clothes. Daryl groaned and Tessa turned to see that he was watching her.

"Where ya goin'?" he asked in his husky, tired voice. A small smile touched Tessa's lips.

"To the farm, they'll start to wonder where I am." Daryl nodded before closing his eyes again. Tessa snorted a little before leaving the tent.

As Tessa approached the farm, she could see everyone gathered outside, standing by the red truck. Tessa quickened her pace and joined the group. She could see that there was a boy in the back seat.

"What happened last night?" Tessa asked as she got closer to the truck.

"We should be askin' you," Maggie said as she rounded on Tessa. "We needed you, and you were no where." Tessa glared at Maggie. She still felt deeply betrayed by the Green family.

"Beth went into some sort of shock," Rick started, "Glen and I went into town to find Hershel and we were attacked. This here is Randal. Guess you could say he's our prisoner now." Tessa studied the boy in the back seat. He looked young.

"What're you going to do with him?" Carol asked from the other side of the truck. Rick looked around at the group. Apparently he didn't know yet.

"We should just kill him," Shane said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I thought we would let him heal up, then let him go a ways away from here," Rick countered. Tessa rolled her eyes. She didn't really care what happened to this kid. She wandered into the house. She saw Hershel sitting in a room with Beth. What had happened to her? When Hershel saw Tessa, she quickly walked into the kitchen, but she could hear Hershel fallowing her.

"Tessa, Tessa wait," he called out. Tessa whirled on him.

"What? What do you want?" Tessa hadn't realized how angry she still was.

"Tessa I'm sorry, we should have told you." Tessa could tell by Hershel's voice that it was a sincere apology, but that didn't change the fact that he had kept a secret from her. Tessa shook her head before walking out the back door. She couldn't be around Hershel. She owed the man so much, but it hurt to know that he could betray her trust like that. Tessa was sitting on her hammock when carol came walking around the house.

"Hi Tessa," she said in greeting. Tessa gave her a small smile in response. "How was your talk with Daryl?" At the mention of his name, Tessa turned bright red. She stared at her lap, trying to ignore the question.

"Oh Tessa, you didn't!" Tessa just shrugged. What could she do? What was done was done. Carol sighed as she gave Tessa a long look. "As long as you're okay." Tessa smiled at Carol. She really was a sweet woman. Tessa smiled before excusing herself. She wanted to tell Daryl about the new guy. She found him sitting by the ruins, making make shift arrows. He looked up as Tessa approached.

"What're ya doing?" he asked with a smirk on his face. Tessa returned the smirk. She knew that he was thinking about last night.

"Rick, Glen, and Hershel are back." Daryl raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "They brought a someone back with them."

"So?" Daryl said as he went back to his arrows, but Tessa saw on his face that he was actually interested.

"You really shouldn't do this," she said as she sat down next to him.

"Do what?"

"Retreat from the group. They need you, whether you like it or not." Daryl stopped what he was doing and held Tessa's gaze. She stole a quick peck from him. She stood up, with a shocked Daryl looking at her. "Just think about it." Daryl gave a slight nod. Tessa smiled and gave him another kiss before walking back to the hammock.


	9. Chapter 9

Tessa spent most of her day out by the hammock. She didn't want to be around Hershel or Maggie. She couldn't trust herself not to say something hurtful to Hershel, and she knew Maggie would chew her ear off. Apparently Beth had gone into some catatonic shock while Tessa had been out in the woods yesterday. She did want to check up on the girl, but Maggie hadn't left her sisters side.

"Tessa?" Tessa turned at the sound of her name to see Carl standing a couple yards away.

"Hey Carl, what's up?" He approached her hesitantly.

"I was just wondering if you could check my gun for me. To make sure it's clean and stuff." Tessa eyed Carl as she took the gun from him.

"It's your gun?" Carl nodded, but he was avoiding eye contact with her. Tessa could tell that he was lying. Tessa checked to make sure the ammo was full and to see if the gun was clean.

"It's good." Carl smiled, said thanks and took off again. Tessa wondered if she should tell is parents about it but decided against. The urge to check on Beth was starting to consume her. Tessa wandered into the house to see Lori standing in the kitchen. She smiled as Tessa approached.

"Where's Rick?" Tessa asked as she grabbed an apple. Lori looked down at her feet.

"Rick and Shane brought Randal to a school 'bout 18 miles away from here." Tessa nodded. She had wondered what they were going to do with the kid. Maggie walked into the kitchen then, glaring daggers at Tessa. Tessa held her gaze as she approached Beth's room. After what felt like ages, Maggie finally let Tessa pass. Tessa entered the room and closed the door behind her. Beth was sitting up in bed, staring out of the window, not really focused on anything.

"Beth," Tessa whispered as she sat next to the young girl. Beth just turned and looked at Tessa with empty eyes. Tessa just studied her before she pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Beth whispered. Tessa let go of her to see that she had some life left in her eyes. "You didn't know." Beth was a about to cry, and Tessa didn't know what to do.

"You shouldn't have had to watch that." Beth just stared at Tessa. When Beth started to cry, Tessa held her. It was what Tessa had wanted when she learned that her mother was dead. To be held and comforted would have been nice, but instead, she was hit. When Beth finally settled down, Tessa left her to rest. Maggie was sitting in the hallway. No words passed between the two as Tessa continued on her way outside. As Tessa wandered through the front yard, a car pulled up. Rick and Shane got out looking much disheveled.

"What the hell happened?" Tessa asked as the two men stormed towards the house.

"Went to drop him off at the school and it turns out he knows 'bout the farm. Then walkers started comin' at us." Tessa just looked at the two men.

"Randal? Where is he?" She finally asked.

"The trunk," Shane said in that angry voice of his.

"I know where you can put him for now." Rick nodded, and with the help of Shane they got him out of the trunk. Tessa led them around the house to what used to be a small wooden house. It was old and falling apart, but it was a good ways from the farm and the only logical place to keep Randal. Rick and Shane handcuffed him down.

"Hershel should be in the house if you want to tell him," Tessa informed the men. Shane was all ready on his way to the farm before she finished speaking.

"Thank you Tessa." She nodded before going out to the ruins. It was sunset, and it had been a very long day. She just wanted some time to herself. As she approached the ruins she saw that Daryl was cooking squirrel. They didn't great each other, there was no need to. They needed each others company.

"What's the deal with Randal?" Daryl finally asked when his squirrel was finished.

"He's in that old building behind the house. Don't know what they're going to do with him though." Daryl nodded before offering Tessa some food. She snorted but took a small bite. The two sat in a comfortable silence. One of the things that Tessa enjoyed about Daryl was that there was no need for constant words. They could sit in silence and just enjoy the company.

"Ya had a nightmare last night," Daryl said, gauging Tessa's reaction. She choked on her spit.

"How'd you know?" she asked in shock.

"You were fidgeting a lot and mutterin' in yer sleep."

"How do you figure that was a nightmare?"

"Ya were talkin' 'bout yer dad." Tessa felt the color drain from her face as she looked down at her lap. Tessa was ashamed on her nightmares. She hated the idea that Daryl had been there while she was having one. Daryl put a hand on Tessa's knee brining her out of her thoughts.

"Ya know I don't care that ya have nightmares," he said as he held her gaze. Tessa's whole body relaxed. There was just something about Daryl that could calm her down. Maybe it was that they had a similar past, or maybe, just maybe, that they truly were meant to be together.

"It was about my brother," Tessa whispered as she pulled her hair over her shoulder so Daryl couldn't see her face, but he just reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "He would use me as a punching bag and when I'd try to defend myself, my father would punish me." Tessa wasn't lookin at Daryl, but she could feel the weight of his eyes on her. Daryl squeezed Tessa's knee and it meant more to Tessa than anything in that moment. She smiled as she finally looked at Daryl.

"Why are you so nice to me?" she asked bluntly.

"What do ya mean?" he asked.

"You've always been kind to me. I guess I'm just not used it." Daryl snorted and was quiet for a while. While Daryl was lost in his thoughts, Tessa stared at the stars.

"Yer like me," he finally said. Tessa smiled as she looked at Daryl. She gave him a peck on the cheek before she got up to leave. Daryl caught her wrist.

"Where ya think ya goin'?" Tessa looked at him with a quizzical look on her face.

"The farm?" she said as if it was obvious. Daryl stood so they were face to face. He kissed her then, and Tessa could feel in that kiss that he needed her just as much as she needed him.

"My tent's right there," he whispered, a little out of breath from the kiss. Tessa smiled before giving him a quick kiss, and retreating to the tent. She immediately climbed into the small bed, and fell asleep. It had been an emotionally exhausting day.

Daryl watched as Tessa walked into his tent. Had he really just told her to spend the night with him? Something about Tessa was changing him; she was making him a better man. Daryl shook his head, trying to get rid of his thoughts of Tessa changing him. We wandered into the tent to see that Tessa was all ready asleep on the bed. He snorted to himself as he lay down next to her.

Daryl couldn't sleep that night. As he lay awake, he studied Tessa's face. He could tell when she was dreaming, and whether it was a nightmare or not. Early in the night her brows kept furrowing, and she would whimper. Daryl put his arm over her waist and her face relaxed. Daryl smiled slightly as Tessa snuggled up against his chest. When Daryl finally fell asleep, Tessa had a smile on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

When Tessa finally woke up, the sun was just starting to rise. Daryl wasn't in the tent, and he wasn't out by the ruins. Tessa sighed before she headed towards the farm. Lori and Carol were sitting on the front lawn. The two women were deep in conversation and didn't hear Tessa as she approached them.

"Have either of you seen Daryl?" she asked when she was close enough. Lori shook her head. She seemed nervous. Tessa had over heard that she was pregnant.

"I thought I saw him disappear over there," Carol said as she pointed in the direction of the clearing. Tessa nodded as she headed off towards the little meadow she loved so much. She stopped on the edge of the clearing and watched Daryl. He was practicing throwing knives. A small smile touched Tessa's lips as she walked towards him.

"I see you've made progress." Daryl jumped slightly as he turned to look at her. He had a smirk on his face.

"Thought next time we'd both be out 'ere, I'd show ya that I was only bad that one time." Tessa laughed a little as she took the knife out of Daryl's hand. It was a nice knife. She threw it at the tree and it landed only millimeters from Daryl's.

"I think I still might be a little better then ya," she said as she winked at him. Daryl growled a little with a hungry lust in his eyes.

"For now," he growled. Tessa's knees went weak as Daryl caught her mouth with his. As they kissed, Tessa could feel herself smiling. Daryl bit her lip before breaking away. He smirked as he walked toward the tree to retrieve the knives.

"Where are Rick and Shane?" Tessa asked as she lay down in the grass. It was a warm day, and the sun felt amazing on her skin.

"Hell if I know," he said as he sat down next to her. She nodded as she looked up at him. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. There was no point in denying the fact that she had feelings for this rough man. Daryl caught her staring at him, and he raised a quizzical eyebrow. Tessa blushed and tore her gaze away. Daryl laughed a little before leaning down and kissing her forehead. Tessa sat up looked at him with a smile on her face.

"I'm glad you guys came to the farm," she said in a quiet voice. Daryl smiled.

"So am I." Tessa's smile grew before she launched herself at Daryl. Daryl laughed as the two kissed. Before long, things between the two got intimate, and neither cared that they were in a field.

The two stayed in the meadow for most of the day until the sun was high in the sky, just enjoying each other's company. Tessa had started to doze off when Daryl suddenly sat up. When Tessa opened her eyes, he was looking at her.

"What?" she asked a little self conscious. Daryl had a very serious look on his face.

"I never thought a person could mean this much to me," he said honestly. Tessa sat up and placed a hand on his face. He looked so vulnerable that it almost broke Tessa's heart. She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.

"I feel the same way," she whispered. Daryl smiled as he rested his forehead on hers. It was strange to be so open with another person. It scared both of them to death. They pulled away from each other when they heard Rick calling Daryl's name.

"We should head back," Tessa said as she looked up at Daryl. He grunted in that way that he does, but offered her his hand anyways. The two walked back to the farm in silence. Tessa was nervous to hear about what had happened today. As the two of them approached the farm house, the group had gathered out on the lawn. Tessa could see that Rick looked stressed, and Shane looked furious, but then a gain, when didn't Shane look angry.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Shane asked angrily as he glared at the two of them. Tessa and Daryl ignored him.

"We need you to ask Randal some questions," Rick said to Daryl.

"What kinda questions?" Daryl asked skeptically. Rick gave him a look and Tessa knew that they wanted Daryl to torture Randall. Tessa also knew that Daryl would do it. Daryl nodded and fallowed Rick. Tessa watched as the two men disappeared. Before long, it was only Tessa and Carol on the front lawn. Tessa wasn't sure how she felt about Daryl torturing this kid, but she also knew that they needed to do what ever they had to do to stay alive.

"So you and Daryl huh?" Carol said, breaking Tessa from her thoughts. She blushed as she wrapped her arms around herself. Carol laughed a little. "You're good for him." Tessa looked at Carol with an eyebrow raised.

"Really?" Carol nodded.

"You should have seen him when this group first got together. Daryl was rough and didn't want anything to do with anyone here. It all changed when we came here, and the only things that had changed were that Merle was gone, Sophia had gone missing, and you." A small smile touched Tessa's face.

"I thought he was good for me," Tessa said as she looked at her feet. "He understands me. I've never known anyone like him; it's nice finally having someone who gets me." Carol put an arm around Tessa's shoulders and the two of them headed towards the farm.

"I believe it's safe to say that everyone here cares about you here." Tessa smiled at Carol. She had been nothing but nice to her.

"Thank you." Carol squeezed Tessa's arm before she entered the home. Tessa sighed before heading out to the ruins. She knew that when Daryl was done with Randall, that is where he would head to.

Tessa sat out by the ruins by herself for a couple hours. She wondered what kind of things Randall was saying to Daryl, and she tried not to think about what Daryl was doing to get those answers. Finally, Tessa heard foot steps approaching the ruins. Daryl didn't sit, making Tessa crane her neck to see him.

"What'd you find out?" she asked. Daryl ran a hand down his face.

"His old group was made up of thirty men. He said that some of the men raped a pair of teenage girls while their father watched. Rick said we should kill him tonight." Tessa stared at Daryl in stunned silence. Tessa hadn't imagined that Randall's old group had been that bad.

"Wow," Tessa said in a stunned voice.  
"Dale aint happy 'bout it. He's trying to get everyone to talk 'bout it." Tessa snorted.

"Leave it to Dale to try to hold onto humanity when the world is shit." Daryl snorted in laughter before he kissed Tessa on the top of the head. She smiled at him as he started to organize his arrows. Before long, Dale found his way to the ruins. Daryl saw him coming and gave Tessa a look that said he was upset with his group.

"The whole point of me comin' out 'ere is to get away from you people," Daryl said when Dale was in hearing distance.

"You obviously didn't want to get away from everyone," Dale said, noticing Tessa who was still sitting at the ruins. Tessa blushed slightly, but didn't miss the glare that Daryl shot him.

"What do ya want Dale?" Daryl asked angrily.

"I wanna know where two stand on the whole Randall thing."

"Don't really care what happens to him, and I don't care that yer trying to get everyone to talk 'bout it. The groups broken."

"If you don't care why don't you side with me?"

"We have to do what we can to survive, and if that means killing one man then so be it," Tessa said from her perch. Dale just looked at the two of them like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"We can't at least talk about this as a group?" he asked in a last ditch effort. Daryl snorted and offered his hand to Tessa. She took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

"Like it said, the groups broken," Daryl said as he started to walk away with Tessa at his side. They had just reached the border of the woods when Tessa decided to try to change Daryl's mind.

"You really should talk to the group," she said softly. Daryl turned and looked at her incredulously.

"Why the hell would I do that?" he asked. Tessa shrugged.

"You're apart of that group whether you like it or not, and your word matters just as much as Shane's or Rick's." Daryl held Tessa's gaze. For a moment she thought that he was going to yell at her, but he just sighed and pulled her close to him.

"Hate the fact that yer right," he whispered into her hair. She smiled as she nuzzled her head against his chest.


	11. Chapter 11

Everyone was in the Greene family home discussing what the best way to deal with Randall was. Tessa was perched on the arm of the sofa, not paying much attention to the conversation. The majority of the group wanted him dead, and only Dale was arguing for Randall's life.

"All right," Rick finally said, "It's settled. We'll kill him tonight." Tessa stood to leave as Dale was trying to get one last plea in. Tessa stopped on the porch and took a deep breath.

"Ya alright?" said Daryl from behind her. He must have fallowed her out of the house. Tessa nodded.

"Just trying not to over think the situation," she said quietly. Daryl gave her a quizzical look.

"Ya think Randall should live?"

"The only way to ensure this groups safety is to kill him and I know that, but taking a life isn't something that should be taken lightly." Daryl pulled Tessa close and kissed the top of her head. Tessa smiled, it was Daryl's way of agreeing with her. Tessa and Daryl wandered to the front yard and built a fire. After a while of being alone, Rick, T-dog, and Shane joined them.

"We're going to take care of Randall in the barn when it's dark out. I want you both to be there," Rick said in a tired voice. Tessa was taken aback. She looked at all three men. Only Shane looked angry.

"Why do you want me there?" she asked.

"You're part of this group now Tessa," was all Rick said before he walked away. Shane and T-dog fallowed behind him. Tessa just watched them go. Daryl had a smirk on his face as he stirred the ashes.

"How ya feel 'bout that?" he said in a joking manner. Tessa glared at him and shoved him a little.

"Shut up," she said as Daryl laughed a little. Tessa smiled slightly as she looked at the flames. It felt good to finally belong somewhere. As Daryl continued to stir the fire Tessa decided to wander out to the ruins to try to clear her head. She knew that Randall had to die for the good of the group, but it was still a stressful situation.

Tessa was sitting against the ruins as the sun started to go down. She was staring at the woods when she saw Carl come running out. She was paying so much attention to Carl that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching.

"What're ya thinking?" Tessa jumped at the sound of Daryl's voice.

"Trying not too, actually." Daryl took a seat next to her.

"Ya havin' second thoughts 'bout this Randall kid?" Tessa shook her head.

"I guess I'm just thinking about how strange this whole situation is. Five years ago, if someone had told me that this was what my future would be like, I would have laughed at them." Daryl wrapped his arm around Tessa's shoulder and pulled her to him. She smiled as she laughed a little to herself.

"Never thought we'd be sittin' here like this either." Daryl snorted as Tessa sat up.

"You do somethin' strange to me Tessa. I never thought I could feel like this." Whenever Daryl opened up to Tessa, he looked so scared, and Tessa's heart melted. She grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him hard on the lips. When she pulled apart, Daryl looked a little shocked which made Tessa laugh.

"Don't look so shocked," she said as she threw some grass at him, "it's not like we haven't done worse then kiss." Daryl smirked then and tackled Tessa to the ground in a kiss. After a moment of wrestling, Tessa had Daryl pinned down, she knew that he was letting her do it, but she still felt triumphant. Daryl just stared at her with a smirk on his face. Tessa glared at him making him snicker. With little effort, Daryl rolled so that he was on top of Tessa.

"Got ya," he said in the sexy voice that made Tessa melt. Daryl's smirk grew because he knew what he was doing to her. Tessa was about to make a comeback when they heard footsteps approaching them. Tessa and Daryl broke apart just as Rick rounded the corner.

"It's time to take care of Randal. Daryl will you help me bring him to the barn?" Rick asked. He looked so tired. Daryl nodded and helped Tessa up. Rick turned to walk to the old house where Randal was. Daryl kissed the top of Tessa's head.

"I'll see you at the barn," he whispered before turning to fallow Rick. Tess just watched the retreating backs of the two men for a while. This was really going to happen. She took a deep breath before heading to the barn. When she got there, T-dog, and Shane were waiting. Tessa didn't know T-dog that well, and Shane still put her on edge. Tessa stood quietly by the door. She wasn't above bailing if she got to uncomfortable. Gravel crunching behind her made Tessa turn just as Daryl and Rick came walking up with a gagged Randall between them. Tessa sucked in her breath. Randall was just a boy. Once Randall was kneeling in the center of the barn did Tessa peel herself away from the entrance to stand by Daryl. She came to stand next to Daryl with her arms crossed firmly across her chest.

"Ya don't have to watch," Daryl said so low that only she could hear him. Tessa gave him a look.

"This isn't the first time I've watched someone die," she said in all seriousness as she went back to looking at Randall. Daryl was stunned into silence. He forgot sometimes that she used to be in the military and that she had seen things that he hadn't. Rick took out his pistol and cocked the gun, just as the gravel by the entrance crunched.

"Do it dad," came a small voice. Everyone turned to see Carl standing in the door way. Tessa's mouth dropped open as Rick lowered his gun.

"Carl," Rick started, "What're—"Rick's sentence was interrupted by a blood curdling scream. Nobody in the barn thought twice before they took off running. Tessa was in the lead as she passed the house. She just saw Lori and Maggie coming out before she entered one of the fields. She could see movement. As Tessa neared she could see a walker and she could see its victim. She pulled out her gun and fired at the walker. It dropped to the ground just as she reached the man who was attacked. It was Dale. Tessa sucked in her breath as she took the old man in. He was pale and wide eyed, and his stomach had been torn out. There was no hope for him. Daryl was the first to reach Tessa, then the others. Daryl's breath caught as Andrea knelt down by Dale's head.

"Isn't there something we can do?" She begged at anyone who would listen. Tessa shook her head, not able to trust her voice from breaking, but Andrea didn't seem to notice. "He's suffering," Andrea cried. Rick pulled out his gun and aimed it at Dale's head. Dale's eyes told Rick that he wanted to die, but Rick hesitated. He wasn't able to do it. Tessa was about to say something, when Daryl's hand reached out and took the gun from Rick.

"I'm sorry friend," Daryl said. Tessa closed her eyes and turned her back just as Daryl took his shot.


	12. Chapter 12

Tessa spent the night out by the ruins. She may have dozed off once or twice, but she spent the majority of the night just thinking about how much her life had changed since the walkers had come. When the sun was starting to rise, Daryl walked out to the ruins to join her.

"Dale's death buggin ya that much?" he asked as Tessa stared at the sky. She shrugged.

"Not so much his death, more like death in general. There were so many times that I should have died when I was little. I don't understand why I didn't, and I don't understand why I'm still here now." Tessa heard Daryl exhale in surprise.  
"Just be glad ya are," he said quietly as he pulled Tessa towards him, she nuzzled up against his chest as he whispered "I am." Tessa smiled as she kissed his neck.

"I don't know what I did to get you to be with me, I'm glad." Daryl rolled his eyes but smiled anyways. Tessa knew that he secretly liked it when she got all lovey dovey with him.

"Come on," Tessa said as she stood up and offered Daryl her hand. "Dale's funeral is this morning." Daryl took her hand and the two walked back towards the house in silence. The funeral proceeded with everyone saying something about Dale. Tessa stared at her feet for the majority of it. She hadn't taken the time to get to know Dale as much as she probably should have. When everyone had said their piece, Rick spoke again.

"We need to stay united. Dale had said that this group is broken. That may be true, but we will fix that, in honor of Dale." Everyone nodded. "We have a lot of work to do today. Let's get started." The group was going to be preparing for the coming winter. Hershel had given the okay that Rick's group could stay. Tessa was glad that Daryl was going to be staying with them. Honestly, if Hershel had said that he needed to go, Tessa wouldn't know what to do. Things were still rocky between Tessa and Hershel. She had barely spoken to him since the walkers in the barn incident. She was walking back to the house with Daryl by her side when Hershel called her name.

"Yer okay talkin' to 'im?" Daryl asked as Tessa stopped walking to wait for the man that used to mean so much to her. Tessa shrugged.

"There's no point in being mad at him forever. Go, Rick needs your help." Daryl gave her a skeptical look before planting a quick kiss on the top of her head. Tessa turned to see Hershel standing a few feet away.

"I always had a feeling about you and him," Hershel said in an effort to ease the awkward situation. "You two are very much a like."

"So I've been told," Tessa said as she crossed her arms. Hershel sighed before placing a hand on Tessa's shoulder.

"I am sorry Tessa." Tessa looked up into Hershel's eyes. She had never stopped to think about how he felt in that situation, and she knew that he was only trying to do right by his morals. It was stupid to stay mad at him. Tessa sighed.

"I know, and I am too. I was just shocked…and scared." A small smile touched Hershel's lips.

"It's all right dear, now how about we help everyone move into the house?" Tessa smiled before walking back towards the house with Hershel. It felt good to finally clear the air between her and him. Hershel had offered his room to Lori and Rick due to Lori's condition. Tessa was helping her bring boxes up stairs when T-dog entered the room.

"Rick's lookin for you Tessa. Wants to talk about what to do with Randall." Tessa looked at Lori. She wasn't sure she should leave a pregnant woman alone to do all this heavy lifting, but Lori nodded and Tessa fallowed T-dog out to the front lawn where Shane, Daryl and Rick were waiting. Tessa took a spot beside Daryl, grateful for his presence in front of Shane. Daryl truly was her rock. When Tessa and T-dog settled in the little group, Rick began speaking.

"We still have this Randall kid," he began. He looked so exhausted. "And I've decided that we are going to honor Dale's wish and let him go. We'll drop him off about 18 miles away from here." Shane looked like he was about to explode. He glared at his former partner before storming away. "Tessa, Daryl," Rick continued, "I want you to come with me when we drop the kid off." Tessa was shocked that Rick wanted her to help him, but she nodded anyways. Rick nodded and dismissed everyone. T-dog and Rick when back to the house, but Daryl and Tessa wandered out to the ruins. Daryl was looking out to the woods as Tessa examined his face. He was being abnormally quiet, even for Daryl.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly. Daryl didn't say anything which made Tessa wonder if he even heard her. Finally, he sighed.

"This is crazy," he said as he turned and looked at her. "What Rick is sayin' I don't know if it's safe to just drop that kid off somewhere?" Tessa looked at Daryl with wide eyes. He was beginning to feel apart of this group, and he was taking its safety into concern, and he was also questioning Rick. Daryl had never questioned Rick before. At least not to Tessa.

"Do you really think that Randall will try to make it back here?" It was a thought that Tessa was trying not to think about. She knew what people could do, and to her, the living were much more frightening then the walkers. Daryl sighed again and ran a hand down his face. He turned and looked at Tessa. Concern was written all over his face.

"I don't know, but I don't know what I'd do if he came back. If he went after ya." Daryl reached out and put a hand behind Tessa's neck. "I saw the way he was lookin' at ya last night in the barn. The kid was 'bout to get killed, but he still managed to look at ya like ya were a piece of meat." Tessa looked at Daryl in surprise. Randall was looking at her like that? Tessa wasn't used to men looking at her with any sort of affection. If they did, she didn't notice it. Now Daryl was telling her that Randall was looking at her like a predator, and Daryl was concerned about her. It was her turn to reach out and touch his face.

"I'll be fine. Randall isn't comin' back here, and even if he does, I know how to take care of myself. I think you forget that I was stationed over seas before this all began." Daryl snorted before pulling Tessa towards him.

"I know yer a fighter Tessa. I just don't know what I'd do without ya," Daryl said before kissing the top of Tessa's head. She smiled to herself before she hit his chest.

"Enough of this deep shit," she said as she stood up. Daryl looked at her with a questioning look. "Let's go have some fun." Daryl's look turned into one of confusion, so Tessa winked at him and bit her lip before walking towards his tent. It only took a second before Daryl caught on. He ran up to Tessa, threw her over his should and carried her the rest of the way as Tessa giggled.


End file.
